Ten Interesting Facts About Independence Day

For many, The Fourth of July is a day filled with family, friends, good food, and fireworks. We often look at it as a fun summer celebration to celebrate our flag, enjoy a busy city parade and snack on cotton candy at local fairs, but Independence Day is so much more than that. It’s easy to forget the details behind the holiday, but we are here to help remind you. We have ten fun facts about the history of Independence Day so you can be reminded as to why we celebrate on The Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is more than just a celebration of summertime — it’s a time to celebrate our freedom and how far we have come.

The Declaration of Independence began as a letter to King George to explain why the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain.

The Declaration of Independence was started on July 2, 1776 and the Continental Congress approved the final wording on July 4. The American colonies were declared free and independent states.

The first Independence Day was celebrated on July 8, 1776 and the official signing took place on August 2.

56 people signed the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote the majority of it.

The first Independence Day on July 8, 1776 took place in Philadelphia. The White House celebrated Independence Day for the first time in 1804.

The Declaration of Independence has five parts. They are: the Preamble, the Statement of Human Rights, Charges Against Human Rights, Charges Against the King and Parliament, and the Statement of Separation and Signatures.

According to census.gov, 2.5 million people celebrated the first Independence Day, compared to 316.2 million people today.

July 4 was officially declared a holiday in 1870, nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence was written.

Currently, the oldest Independence Day celebration in the U.S. is held in Bristol, Rhode Island.

2013 marks this year as the 237th Independence Day.

Kids love to learn about history, so we hope that they enjoy these ten fun facts about The Fourth of July.

Donate A Car

The Fourth of July can also mean maybe a day or two off of work. If this is the case, dive into some spring cleaning and decide whether or not you want to get rid of anything that you may not use as often as you used to. If one of these items happens to be a vehicle, consider donating it to Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-A-Wish. We will accept your unwanted vehicle whether it’s a motorcycle, car, truck, SUV, RV, boat, Jet Ski — you name it. If in doubt, you can always give us a call and ask.

To donate a vehicle to Wheels For Wishes, please call 1-877-431-9474 or fill out our easy online vehicle donation form.

Whether you’re boating, going to a parade or just flying the flag, have a great Independence Day! Let us know what you and your family are planning by leaving us a message on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

CDF's mission is to help these benefitting charities fulfill their missions with proceeds from CDF's car donation programs. CDF and all benefitting charities are separate and unaffiliated 501c organizations.